It was a few months ago. Summer. About to go to Tahiti. Time to make another summer fling dress and give away the last one!
This is bye bye birdie fabric by Atelier Brunette. It was stashed so long...that it has been faded by the sun. I love it so much that I kept saving it for that dreamy perfect project, and I expected this version of the dress to be a real winner and therefore a good use of said special fabric.
I got out my pattern pieces and got cracking. The one thing I overlooked, despite having the previous dress in the sewing room with me, is that I DID narrow the previous dress 1" on the side seams. I did not adjust this on the pattern, and I thought I had, and I didn't check.
The previous dress, Liberty poplin, is very heavy and feels disproportionately long on me, so I never wear it. I still wear the first version at times though it was more beach-life appropriate and not so mountain-life appropriate, so I wear it less than I did in Gisborne.
This fabric is a lot lighter. I adjusted the straps to pull at a better angle than previously and was meticulous about measuring the lengths so it wouldn't hang too long, but without the side seam adjustment it did not end up being a great improvement. Oddly, the dress seems to hang lower than expected, but I think it's just lower in the armpit and that makes it feel that way. I gave this dress to a friend and kept the blue one for now -- after assessing it while making the new one I think I can salvage it by cutting off each tier and shortening them, but I really hate gathering, so I'll have to be in the right mood to tackle it. Next summer...
I do think it is finally time to stop the delaying. This dress can handle being made in silk even with a lot of body, and I have silks from Thailand languishing patiently. I need to be really meticulous to get it right though. Plans: shorten each tier, including the bodice, by 1-2" (assess first!) Ensure bodice narrowed, and pin the bias in place to try on before committing. The strap angles seem to be consistently good now. The change I made between versions 1 and 2 was to do the underarm bias binding as one piece (front and back underarm) and to do another long bias binding piece from one side of the back, creating the strap, crossing the front, and etc. This method fixed the weird kink I had in the front of the first dress, where the underarm and the bodice bias binding came together to form the strap.
I've used the pockets from the Bardon dress, because they are like having a purse at your side. They are amazing pockets.
Watch this space! I have three lengths of silk ikat I keep trying to commit to cutting into and I'm determined this dress will be one of them, but I'm not sure which one yet.
